Students struggle on FCAT math, reading tests

Many Florida students continue to struggle on high-stakes tests in reading and math.

The Florida Department of Education reported Friday that nearly half of the ninth and 10th graders who took the reading portion of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test did not get a passing grade.

The reading scores for those grades were a slight improvement over last year -- but the scores of fourth and fifth graders slipped from 2012. Sixty percent of students in those grades passed the FCAT reading test.

The percentage of students in grades four through eight who passed the FCAT math test also declined from last year.

The state reported the percentage of students taking the end-of-course algebra and biology tests increased.

Student scores in Brevard County followed a similar pattern as those of other students across the state, either remaining about the same as last year's or dropping, according to Local 6 news partner Florida Today.

The largest decline in Brevard came in eighth grade math, which went from 65 percent last year to 45 percent this year.

In Lake County, scores also varied in increases and decreases compared to last year.

The most dramatic difference in Lake schools since last year was in eighth grade -- an 18-point decline.

However, Lake County schools saw an improvement in 10th grade reading and algebra I end-of-course exams, county school officials said in a release.

FCAT scores are the primary factor in determining A-to-F grades for schools.